The Wayne teen who shot and killed a youth last July has been sentenced to 2.5 to 15 years in prison following his guilty plea.
Robert Shoats, 19, told Third Circuit Court Judge Margaret Van Houten that he apologized for shooting “close friend” Kaleb Parish and said that he prayed for the family every night.
He entered a guilty plea in November to a single charge of manslaughter and a weapons charge. Four other homicide and weapons charges were dismissed.
According to police reports, Shoats shot Parish the evening of July 29 in the 34000 block of Richard Street in Wayne. Parish was transported by emergency personnel from Wayne to a local hospital where he died several days after the shooting which Shoats claimed was accidental. The two were described as friends who grew up together.
The mother of the victim, Tabatha Parish, said her son had a good-paying job, a girlfriend and had planned to attend community college before his death. He was the father of a young son.
Van Houten also sentenced Shoats to two years on the weapons charge, to be served consecutively with the manslaughter imprisonment term.
“Mrs. Parish, there is nothing that we can do here today that would bring your son back,” the judge said, “but I hope that this brings you some closure and that your family can find some peace in this chapter and cherish your memories of your son.”
